What a Montana teen's car accident shows us about the costs and questions of vehicular crashes

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What a Montana teen's car accident shows us about the costs and questions of vehicular crashes

By
Odegaard Miller Law, PLLC
|November 20, 2014

A recent article about a Montana high school student who was able to return to playing football after a devastating car accident is an inspiring story of resilience and hope.

It also highlights some of the profound struggles of motor vehicle accident victims, and the questions they may have after their accident.

Potentially steep costs of an accident

According to the CDC, in one year alone the injuries from motor vehicle accidents cost over 80 billion dollars in medical care and loss of productivity.

The article about the Montana high school student illustrates some of those costs, which can include multiple surgeries, extended hospital stays, multiple follow-up visits to doctors and extended physical and cognitive rehabilitation.

Ultimately, his was a success story in that he achieved his goal of returning to school and to the football field. Other people, however, remain with profound lifelong disabilities; they might need to make major lifestyle changes, including giving up their job and depending on a medical device such as a wheelchair.

Even when injuries are relatively minor after an accident, the costs can still add up. One visit to an emergency room can lead to a bill of hundreds or thousands of dollars. And remember, this estimate doesn't even factor in all the additional damage from an accident, such as a totaled vehicle in need of replacement.

How will you come up with the money you need?

An important reason for contacting an attorney after an accident is to explore different options for how you can receive coverage and compensation for the various costs of an accident.

For example, what insurance should you turn to? The high school football player was a passenger in a vehicle at the time of the crash. Had there been multiple drivers involved in or responsible for the crash, whose auto insurance company might he have turned to as a source of compensation? What about his parents' medical insurance - was it sufficient in covering his medical treatments, or did the company unfairly try to deny his claims?

It's important to figure out who might have been responsible for the crash. In the football player's case, the driver if his vehicle had tried to avoid a box that was lying out on the road. He apparently swerved to another lane, and then had to swerve back at the approach of an oncoming vehicle. He subsequently lost control of his car, which crashed. To what extent was the driver responsible for the crash? And who had left the obstructing box out on the road to begin with?

With strong legal representation and advocacy, you'll be able to get a clearer picture of what happened and how you can get a handle on all of the costs, ranging from medical care to missed work or school to vehicle repairs.

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